Modeling and nostalgia

Hi MRS DJ. i once bought an airfix skyhawk purely because it was one of the first kits that i built, i thought it would be a blast from the past to build it again. ended up giving it away because i couldnt bring myself to build something that awful. after doing a hasagawa skyhawk there was just no comparison. i did do the revell hurricane though and finished it as i remember my first ever kit (even down to having my initials on the sides). see link. Greg

http://www.scalehobby.com/forum/viewthread.php?action=attachment&tid=1066&pid=10766

BTW the two skyhawks pictured are both from the matchbox kit built and decaled ootb except the bombload

Thanks for sharing Greg, how cool.

Yes. I bought a 1/700 Hasegawa IJN Nachi about a year or so ago. It was one of the first ships I built as a kid. When I saw that it was updated, I had to have it, partially because of the nostalgia. I completed half of it, then got back into armor heavily, thus creating a layer of dust upon my little ship's box.

Ive built a Philippine Air Force Rescue Bell 205A Huey (pics posted in the helo forum) in exactly the same markings as the one I took a ride with friends on. After revisiting the same aircraft in the hangar a few months later and opening up the access panels I swore to build a model of it. After seeing it my friends had a blast recalling how funny the ride was, especially when the pilot pulled what they call a "stall turn" that almost let us view what we had for lunch.

As fate would have it, the very same chopper figured in a crash a few weeks before I finished my kit. And it was then being flown by a very close friend of mine! Fortunately, he walked away from the crash without any serious injuries.

Ive considered building a model of every plane, chopper, ship or armored vehicle I take a ride on (well, except for the airliners, maybe). I figured I could show it to my children someday and tell them "daddy took a ride in the real thing."

Most of what I model now has some nostalgic component. My current project is the ship my father in law sailed on in WW2.
Bruce

Lots of the kits I made were seen in a black and white photo......enough to create the nostalgic effect.

90% of what I build is for nastalgic reasons, whether it's something I built as a kid, worked with in the military, or just a peice of history that facinated me at the time.

I think "Nostalgia" is the glue that keeps all of us modelers stuck to the hobby.

Thanks for the answers so far. Some great stories and insights. I am currently working on slowly a model of the Psycho house! I watched the movie on TV with my dad, when I was very little. I remember being so scared. My dad and I used to watch old black and white horror films on late night Friday TV, just the two of us. It is another way to remember him as I work on it.

I built most of the old Aurora monster kits as a kid. I've been collecting them as I find them and building them one at a time. My kids are enjoying them now. "That's really cool dad; not a tank or a plane like you usually build!"

most kits i build are 30 years old or so , 70's kits rein supreme. if its new somehow i dont want to know in most cases, tho being an Airfix fan i will buy a new issue of a old kit if i cant find an origonal at a decent price ( also for a new decal sheet in some cases) . the history , the maker and the past of a kit gives me pleasure that makes up for suspect fit and accuracy compared with modern kits, but if thats why they are fairly easy to find then great - i'm not complaining !
wether i'll lose this love of building old kits i dont know but for now its the sole reason i do

Just picked up a couple of mid-50s Revell kits I remembered building in the 5th and 6th grades, an F-89 and a Douglas D-558 Skyrocket. Now if I could just find the old Revell X-3 I could be happy. Unfortunatly there's a back up on the build desk right now.

I recently built the smokey and the bandit trans am and gave it to a friend for the one he had when we were teen agers that we never got around to fixing up. Also built a race car my grandfather drove in the first year of nascar.

Very nice Greggers. Thanks for posting the picture.
mark956

I just bought a pair of Hasegawa 1/72 scale Panther G's ... for just that very reason: nostalgia. Hasegawa models were the best that I can remember back when I started in the early 70's with 1/72 scale armor. Now, I wish I could find some ESCI shermans to go with these guys!

Regards, Dan

Dan, the ESCI Shermans are (well, one of them at any rate!) being re-released by Italeri. Kit No.7003 M4 Sherman.

Granted most of what we do is nostalgia, but I've been on that buy that kit I built as a kid. It started a while back when my wife came across 2 Monogram A-26 and a B-25H. I sanded off those mountains of rivets and decal placement lines and away I went. Now it seems that at least 2 or 3 of my yearly purchases are kits I built as a kid. I'll go to shops that carry out of production kits or find an antique shop that has a few old kits. I'm happy that people know their limitations and are willing to get rid of a kit in favor of a newer one. Less is more. Less detail is more creativity on my part. !/48 Cutlass, Skyray, and Blue Angel Tiger. Give me more!

I build american WW2 planes and NASA marked planes not really sure why, never thought about it. Since im 33 for some reason I would say theres nostalgia behind my modeling choice. Although I cant seem to pin point it.

When I was a kid in the 1970's, I loved Black Sheep Squadron. So my father got me and help me put together the 1/32 Revell Corsair. Every Wednesday at 7 p.m. the show would come on, I was there, with my corsair in hand, ready to take on the Japs. Well, 29 years later, I bought and built another 1/32 Revell Corsair. Only thing different, this one was painted and detailed, and I won't be going on missions to straff the cat or lay bombs across the sofa with this model. But I may have to hold it while watching the old re-runs on the History Channel.

Scott

Great story Scott! Thanks for sharing.

Nostalgia breeds modeling I dont think you could be interested in modeling if you wer,nt in some way nostalgic about your chosen subject be it "AFVs or Gundams. Whatever floats your boat its all good!
Gotter.

I recently built the "old" Godzilla originally by Aurora-wanted it as a kid but had to wait until 48 to get it. "Internet Modeler" had a feature on a "Creature" kit which was built and then painted in B&W ala the way we saw it on TV.